So much rain!

Greetings! 

It's still very wet in Mississippi. It's rained all week, and the weather was nuts on Halloween! 

I'm sure plenty of you may wonder what Halloween is like for missionaries since we can't dress up or go trick-or-treating (...if only). We have to be inside by 6:00PM, either in our apartments or with a member. For those of us in the Brandon district, there's this really cool family in the ward who invited all the missionaries over for Halloween! We got to eat pizza and chat and play some weird games. Sis. Harrison got some really hilarious videos! The missionaries in our district are really awesome; this transfer is going to be amazing! 

With the rain as crazy as it was, Sister Harrison and I weren't sure how we were going to get all of our tracting done. (Each week, the missionaries have to reach a minimum of 7 hours of tracting!) We tracted as much as we could everyday, and at the end of each day, we'd count how many hours/minutes of tracting we'd accomplished. 

On Thursday night, I was counting how many hours of tracting we'd done that day. By the time I was done, I was laughing because we'd done 6 hours and 59 minutes of tracting! WHAT! What a blessing!

This was especially a blessing while we were doing our weekly planning session on Friday. Over the past few weeks, we've collected a ton of business cards and phone numbers from people we'd talk to about service in the community, so we'd decided to call all of them and ask what could be done! We called the library and the Chamber of Flowood, and neither of those had any service we could do at the moment (the people at the Chamber of Flowood were really busy, too. They said we can keep trying back though!), so we then called a guy who was the Head of Parks and Recreation for the city of Flowood. When he answered the phone, we told him who we were and what we do and we asked if he had any service we could help with. 

Immediately, he told us about this alternative to trick-or-treating they were hosting at the park nearby. A bunch of vendors and whatnot were going to be there, and he asked if we wanted to pass out candy and set up a booth to share our faith with people! We were so shocked! He told us to go down to the park and find the Maintenance Manager and ask about setting up a tent. So, we immediately got our shoes on and rushed down to the park, where we met the nicest people ever. 

Rodger was the guy we were supposed to talk to about the whole thing. He asked if we had a table and a tent and chairs. We said we had none of those things, so he let us use one of the extra sets they had. Some really very sweet female inmates from the local prison helped set it up right in front of us, and then Rodger asked if we needed a generator! We said no, and thanked everyone. 

We then had about three hours to get everything ready. This involved running to teach a wonderful woman we see every Friday who has been a member for a year. She always offers such a wonderful testimony of the gospel and is always so fun to talk to. We taught her for about an hour or so, ran to Wally World to grab some candy, and then drove to the mission office in Brandon to grab a bunch of media supplies -- like copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets, pass-along cards, DVDs, Bibles...everything! The missionaries in the office are so kind! 

We spent the entire evening handing out copies of the Book of Mormon, answering questions about it, and handing out pamphlets. The people here are all so kind. I'm sure I say that in every e-mail, but really. People in the south can be so generous and loving, especially if you are doing something to spread the love of Jesus Christ. I know what we did at that little shindig was so important for some people who came to the booth. The Book of Mormon is a powerful book. It is the keystone of our religion and the most important book on the earth today. It testifies of the Restoration; it is evidence of the Restoration. It is truth of God's love and the Savior's restored Church on the earth that you can hold in your hands. 

And we gave that to so many people. 

Do you have a testimony of the Book of Mormon? As a person who grew up in the Church, it was always just a part of everyday life. The story of Abinadi was as familiar to me as the story of Noah's ark to everyone else. I assumed everyone had this; everyone knew this; I didn't understand that the Book of Mormon was precious. It's a holy book from our Father in Heaven, just like the Bible. But, as I've been introducing it to people and talking about it and really spending time with it, I've grown to truly love the message it shares and understand how important it is. 

Read the Book of Mormon. Read it with a purpose; reading to read never got anyone anywhere. Read with a question in mind -- what can I do to be a better person? How can I help those around me? What can I do to help? 

Any question of the heart and soul is a question the Book of Mormon can answer. I challenge those reading this to select a question about the gospel, about themselves, or anything in their heart and try to find it in the Book of Mormon. I know you can find it if you are sincerely, earnestly seeking it. It will come to you, and the Lord will bless you. 

Another thing I have noticed from this week is that teenagers are seriously the bomb. I love them. They're always so willing to learn more and ask questions! We met a few this week who truly want to strengthen their relationship with their Father in Heaven. I firmly believe that God put us on their front doorsteps to share our message with them so that they can feel a closer connection to Him and realize that they aren't alone and that there's a brighter, bigger, better future for them. I know that helped me a lot when I was that age; I needed the gospel, and I strongly feel like they do too. 

I would also like to tell you that I have a seriously awesome companion. Sister Harrison works so hard to be a good missionary. She's always seeking answers to her prayers and asking Heavenly Father for ways that she can improve. She is always trying to lift me up, and I know that her being my trainer was an inspiration from God. She's taught me so much, and I'm still learning. She's honestly the best, and I can't wait to see what else she accomplishes in the nine months that she has left on her mission. 

I think that's all for now. I'm sure there's more, but I always forget (even though I write it down...). Remember to love one another, brothers and sisters. As Christ said to His disciples, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." We are all struggling on the path back home to our Heavenly Father; we are all doing the best we can. Uplift, don't drag. Love and embrace; don't crush and diminish. Those you see are as much of a loved child of God as you are; remember that. 

Have a wonderful week! Godspeed!

- Sister Rose 

Here are some pumpkins a ward member carved at the trunk or treat!